Vehicle positioning in a parking area

ABSTRACT

Vehicle positioning in a parking area is provided by obtaining vehicle information of vehicles for positioning in the parking area, identifying unutilized parking space in the parking area, then based on recognizing a vehicle movement event, determining an optimized layout for the vehicles, the optimized layout including position for each vehicle of the vehicles, the vehicle movement event including (i) actual or anticipated arrival of an arriving vehicle to be positioned in the parking area or (ii) actual or anticipated departure of a departing vehicle departing from the parking area, and positioning one or more vehicles of the vehicles to conform to the determined optimized layout, the positioning including automatically controlling movement of at least one autonomous vehicle of the one or more vehicles and repositioning a vehicle, of the one or more vehicles, that is a different vehicle than the arriving vehicle or departing vehicle.

BACKGROUND

Vehicles are available in a variety of different types and sizes, andconsequently their dimensions range from relative small to relativelylarge. With variations in vehicle dimension, different sized vehiclesrequire different sized, dimensioned, and shaped parking spaces.However, parking different sized vehicles in a common parking areagenerally results in an inefficient use of the parking area, andconsequently a significant amount of unutilized parking space. This isespecially true when vehicles arrive and leave at different times andthe positioning of the vehicles is performed by several unrelatedvehicle operators, rather than being overseen and coordinated by acommon entity.

SUMMARY

Shortcomings of the prior art are overcome and additional advantages areprovided through the provision of a computer-implemented method thatincludes obtaining vehicle information of a plurality of vehicles, theplurality of vehicles for positioning in a parking area and the vehicleinformation comprising vehicle dimension and driving direction;identifying occupied areas of the parking area and comparing theidentified occupied areas to a total area size of the parking area toidentify unutilized parking space in the parking area; based onrecognizing a vehicle movement event, determining an optimized layoutfor the plurality of vehicles, the optimized layout comprising positionfor each vehicle of the plurality of vehicles, the position includingvehicle orientation and location within the parking area, and thevehicle movement event comprising (i) actual or anticipated arrival ofan arriving vehicle to be positioned in the parking area or (ii) actualor anticipated departure of a departing vehicle departing from theparking area; and positioning one or more vehicles of the plurality ofvehicles to conform to the determined optimized layout, the positioningcomprising automatically controlling movement of at least one autonomousvehicle of the one or more vehicles and repositioning a vehicle, of theone or more vehicles, that is a different vehicle than the arrivingvehicle or departing vehicle.

Further, a computer program product including a computer readablestorage medium readable by a processor and storing instructions forexecution by the processor is provided for performing a method thatincludes: obtaining vehicle information of a plurality of vehicles, theplurality of vehicles for positioning in a parking area and the vehicleinformation comprising vehicle dimension and driving direction;identifying occupied areas of the parking area and comparing theidentified occupied areas to a total area size of the parking area toidentify unutilized parking space in the parking area; based onrecognizing a vehicle movement event, determining an optimized layoutfor the plurality of vehicles, the optimized layout comprising positionfor each vehicle of the plurality of vehicles, the position includingvehicle orientation and location within the parking area, and thevehicle movement event comprising (i) actual or anticipated arrival ofan arriving vehicle to be positioned in the parking area or (ii) actualor anticipated departure of a departing vehicle departing from theparking area; and positioning one or more vehicles of the plurality ofvehicles to conform to the determined optimized layout, the positioningcomprising automatically controlling movement of at least one autonomousvehicle of the one or more vehicles and repositioning a vehicle, of theone or more vehicles, that is a different vehicle than the arrivingvehicle or departing vehicle.

Yet further, a computer system is provided that includes a memory and aprocessor in communications with the memory, wherein the computer systemis configured to perform a method including: obtaining vehicleinformation of a plurality of vehicles, the plurality of vehicles forpositioning in a parking area and the vehicle information comprisingvehicle dimension and driving direction; identifying occupied areas ofthe parking area and comparing the identified occupied areas to a totalarea size of the parking area to identify unutilized parking space inthe parking area; based on recognizing a vehicle movement event,determining an optimized layout for the plurality of vehicles, theoptimized layout comprising position for each vehicle of the pluralityof vehicles, the position including vehicle orientation and locationwithin the parking area, and the vehicle movement event comprising (i)actual or anticipated arrival of an arriving vehicle to be positioned inthe parking area or (ii) actual or anticipated departure of a departingvehicle departing from the parking area; and positioning one or morevehicles of the plurality of vehicles to conform to the determinedoptimized layout, the positioning comprising automatically controllingmovement of at least one autonomous vehicle of the one or more vehiclesand repositioning a vehicle, of the one or more vehicles, that is adifferent vehicle than the arriving vehicle or departing vehicle.

Additional features and advantages are realized through the conceptsdescribed herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects described herein are particularly pointed out and distinctlyclaimed as examples in the claims at the conclusion of thespecification. The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantagesof the invention are apparent from the following detailed descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an inefficient configuration of parked vehicles in aparking area, resulting in unutilized parking space;

FIG. 2A depicts arrival of an arriving vehicle to be positioned in theparking area, and repositioning of vehicles based on the arrival of thearriving vehicle and based on determining an optimized layout, inaccordance with aspects described herein;

FIG. 2B depicts positioning of the vehicles in the parking arearesulting from the vehicle arrival and repositioning of FIG. 2A, inaccordance with aspects described herein;

FIG. 3A depicts departure of a departing vehicle from the parking areatogether with arrival of two arriving vehicles to be positioned in theparking area, and repositioning of vehicles based on the departure andthe arrivals and based on determining an optimized layout, in accordancewith aspects described herein;

FIG. 3B depicts positioning of the vehicles in the parking arearesulting from the vehicle departure, arrivals, and repositioning ofFIG. 3A, in accordance with aspects described herein;

FIG. 4 depicts an example process for vehicle positioning in a parkingarea, in accordance with aspects described herein;

FIG. 5 depicts an example of a computer system to incorporate or useaspects described herein; and

FIG. 6 depicts one embodiment of a computer program product.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Described herein are facilitates for positioning, includingrepositioning, vehicles in a parking area. Though examples providedherein are described in the context of cars and trucks, aspectsdescribed herein apply to other motorized vehicles, such as busses,motorcycles, recreational vehicles (RVs), boats, all-terrain vehicles,snowmobiles, or any other motorized transportation device, and evennon-motorized vehicles such as bicycles.

Aspects described herein may be utilized, in some embodiments, withautonomous vehicles (sometimes referred to as driverless, self-driving,or robotic cars, though it is not necessarily the case that they alwaysoperate in a driverless manner). Autonomous vehicles may becomeubiquitous in the future, presenting an opportunity to optimize parkingspace utilization in an autonomous vehicle ecosystem.

FIG. 1 illustrates an inefficient configuration of parked vehicles in aparking area, resulting in unutilized parking space. Parking area 104 inenvironment 100 currently holds vehicles labeled 1 through 7. Due to thesignificant amount of unutilized parking space 106, generally due to theinefficient positioning of vehicles 1 through 7, the parking area isunable to accommodate arriving vehicle 8. The issue of unutilizedparking space is partly because different sized vehicles are parked in asingle parking space (e.g. vehicles 5 and 6 are relatively small butmonopolize the same size parking spot that vehicle 7 occupies).

Aspects described herein provide automatic parking positioning/layout ofvehicles in a parking area. In situations where the vehicles include, orperhaps consist entirely of, autonomous vehicles, thepositioning/repositioning of the autonomous vehicle(s) can be controlledin part of in whole by a controller (such as a cloud server) toautomatically position the vehicle(s) without requiring human vehicledrivers to position the vehicles.

By way of specific example and not limitation, software installed on acloud server (a server connected to a local area network and/or widearea network, such as the internet) may identify the occupied portionsof the parking area occupied by vehicles and compare this against thetotal available parking space in the parking area, to identify theunutilized parking space in that parking area. In some aspects, if anarriving vehicle—one that has arrived or is to arrive—requests or isanticipated to need a parking space in the parking area, softwareinstalled on the cloud server may assess whether the arriving vehiclecan be accommodated in the parking area, perhaps with repositioning ofone or more vehicles already parked in the parking area. Similarly, if adeparting vehicle—one that is currently ready to depart from the parkingarea or is anticipated to depart at an identifiable future timeframe—thesoftware may reassess the positioning of vehicles in the parking area todetermine whether the layout of the vehicles can be optimized.

Regardless of arrival or departure, repositioning can be performed tooptimize a layout given actual or anticipated vehicle movement events.Using the example of an arriving vehicle, software of the cloud servermay determine whether one or more vehicles already present/parked in theparking area should be repositioned to create a parking space toaccommodate the arriving vehicle.

Repositioning of vehicle(s) in the parking area may be dependent onvarious factors, such as predicted time of departure and positioning ofa vehicle parked in the parking area, the dimension of the arrivingvehicle and the vehicle(s) accommodated in the parking area, thedimensions of the vehicle(s) to be repositioned, and the dimensions ofunutilized parking space, as examples.

To reposition an appropriate vehicle, software installed in the cloudserver may temporarily move, or direct the movement of, other associatedvehicles so that repositioning can be done in an effective manner.

FIG. 2A depicts arrival of an arriving vehicle to be positioned in theparking area, and repositioning of vehicles based on the arrival of thearriving vehicle and based on determining an optimized layout, inaccordance with aspects described herein. Here, as in FIG. 1, vehicle 8is an arriving vehicle to be positioned in the parking area 104 ofenvironment 100. Environment 100 also includes a remote server 108coupled to and in communication with a network 112 via communicationslink 110B. Vehicle 8 is in communication with network 112 viacommunications link 110A. In some examples, vehicle 8 includes or isassociated with a computer system that is connected to network 112 via awireless communication link 110A, such as a cellular, Wi-Fi, or othertype of wireless connection. More generally, communications links 110Aand 11B may be any appropriate wireless or wired communication link forcommunicating data. In some embodiments, connectivity of vehicle 8 tonetwork 112 is made by proxy via a user's mobile device. For instance, amobile device, such as a smartphone, of an occupant of vehicle 8 isconnected to network 112 via a cellular or Wi-Fi connection, asexamples. Additionally, one or more of vehicles 1-7 may also be incommunication with remote server via network 112 or another network.

The vehicle 8 (or computer system associated therewith, such as asmartphone of an occupant) sends vehicle information about vehicle 8 toremote server 108 via network 112 across communications links 110A,110B. The vehicle information includes any appropriate information aboutthe vehicle that might help remote server 108 in the optimization of thelayout of vehicles in parking area 104. Such information includes, asexamples, vehicle dimension (e.g. dimensions of the vehicle, footprint,shape, etc., as examples examples) and driving direction. Drivingdirection indicates which direction is forward movement of the vehicleand which direction is reverse movement for the vehicle. The drivingdirection information enables the server to ascertain forward andreverse driving directions of the vehicle. Vehicles are generally drivenin the forward direction and this information is useful for orientingthe vehicle properly. This information is useful when queueing a vehiclefor departure, for instance, so that the vehicle can egress in theforward driving direction rather than the reverse driving direction.Position of the engine relative to the front or rear wheels may be usedas an indicator of driving direction.

The remote server 108 receives the vehicle information of vehicle 8,including its dimensions, and, based on this information, the remoteserver 108 assesses whether/how the layout of vehicles in parking area104 should (potentially) be repositioned to accommodate the arrivingvehicle 8 in an efficient manner. The layout encompasses both the layoutfor the existing vehicles in the parking area 104, as well as thepositioning of the arriving vehicle, assuming it can be accommodated.FIG. 2A illustrates via arrows the repositioning that is identified.Here, vehicle 5 and vehicle 6 are to be positioned so that one is infront of the other. In this regard, vehicle 6 is predicted to depart theparking area before vehicle 5 departs (examples of this are explainedbelow), so vehicle 6 is to move forward to free up space for vehicle 5,which is to occupy vehicle 6's current position. Vehicle 8 is then ableto park in the position occupied by vehicle 5 in FIG. 2A.

FIG. 2B depicts positioning of the vehicles in the parking arearesulting from the vehicle arrival and repositioning of FIG. 2A, inaccordance with aspects described herein. Any vehicles that areautonomous vehicles and controllable via one or more computer systemsmay be automatically repositioned, that is the movement andrepositioning thereof may be automated and performed by computersystem(s). In some embodiments, the remote server 108 (FIG. 2A) or acomputer system acting on behalf of, or in response to commands from,remote server 108 can control such an autonomous vehicle to effect itsrepositioning, park the vehicle (in the case that it is the arrivingvehicle), or pull the vehicle out of the parking area 104 (in the casethat the autonomous vehicle is a departing vehicle). Vehicles that arenot automatically controlled may be driven and positioned by an operatorin accordance with the optimized layout, as directed by the remoteserver.

As seen in FIG. 2B, vehicle 5 has been positioned in vehicle 6's formerlocation, to sit behind vehicle 6, which is in its new position in frontof vehicle 5. Meanwhile, arriving vehicle 8 has been positioned invehicle 5's former location. It is noted that a position of a vehicleincludes both the vehicle orientation and the location within theparking area. The layout determined based on arrival of vehicle 8 candictate both location for the vehicle as well as its orientation,together the position that vehicle 8 is to occupy in the parking area.In FIG. 2B, vehicle 8 and all other vehicles in parking area 104 havebeen backed into their respective locations to orient them for efficientegress.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate an additional situation with additionalvehicle movement events. FIG. 3A depicts departure of a departingvehicle from the parking area together with arrival of two arrivingvehicles to be positioned in the parking area, and repositioning ofvehicles based on the departure and the arrivals and based ondetermining an optimized layout, in accordance with aspects describedherein. Specifically, vehicle 6 is to depart the parking area 104, andvehicles 9 and 10 arrive to be positioned in the parking area.Accordingly, the remote server 108 or another computer system receivesvehicle information about the arriving vehicles 9 and 10, and alsoinformation about the departing vehicle 6. The system then determines anoptimized layout that accounts for vehicle 6's departure as well as thearrival of vehicles 9 and 10. Here as seen in FIGS. 3A and 3B, severalvehicles are repositioned to create a parking space for vehicle 9 andmake room for vehicle 10. Vehicles 2 and 3 are to be reoriented(including a rotation by 90 degrees) to create room for vehicle 4 tochange location and move closer to vehicles 2 and 3. That frees up spacefor vehicle 9 in vehicle 4's former location. Meanwhile, vehicle 6departs and vehicle 5 is repositioned and reoriented in front ofvehicles 4 and 9, to make room for vehicle 10. In determining thislayout, the system can account for expected or predicted departuretimes. For instance, vehicle 5 may be positioned in front of vehicles 4and 9 on the basis that vehicle 5 is predicted to depart before bothvehicles 4 and 9.

FIG. 3B depicts positioning of the vehicles in the parking arearesulting from the vehicle departure, arrivals, and repositioning ofFIG. 3A, in accordance with aspects described herein. Vehicles 9 and 10have been oriented in their respective spaces such that they can pulldirectly out of the parking area 104 when clear to do so, and vehicle 5sits in front of vehicles 4 and 9 and is unimpeded in its egress.

Thus, in accordance with aspects described herein, vehicle dimension,driving direction, and the available parking space is accounted for inthe remote server's determination of the optimum parking layout. Thisdetermination can be made dynamically and involve all of the vehicles inthe parking area (not just those that are arriving and those that aredeparting). In this regard, any vehicle in the parking area mayconsidered for repositioning if the circumstances dictate. The layoutcan be optimized to maximize the number of vehicles that can beaccommodated in the parking area and/or minimize unutilized space.Accordingly, the relative position and orientation of different vehiclescan be changed from time to time when a vehicle movement event istriggered, and the system can ensure accommodation of a maximum numberof vehicles in the parking area. The parking layout, i.e. relativelocations, relative directions, and relative orientations of thevehicles in the parking area, can be dynamically reallocated based onvehicle movement events, corresponding to updated parking demand.Example vehicle movement events include arrival, predicted arrival,departure, and predicted departure of a vehicle.

A holistic approach is taken rather than focusing on identifying aparticular location for an arriving vehicle and considering the requiredmovement of only the vehicle(s) proximate that location to accommodatethe arriving vehicle. In accordance with aspects described herein, theoptimized layout determined is for the collective plurality of vehiclesin the parking area, meaning that all vehicles (not just the onesproximate the destination of the arriving vehicle) may be considered forpotential repositioning, in order to ensure a maximum number of vehiclescan be accommodated in the defined parking area. This is exemplified inFIGS. 3A and 3B above where vehicles 9 & 10 arrive and need space, andvehicle 6 is departing the area. The optimized layout changes thelocation and orientation of vehicles 2 & 3, placing vehicle 3 in frontof vehicle 2 based on predicted departure time from the parking area,while enabling minimal disturbance for vehicle 2 to depart even ifvehicle 3 remains (For example, vehicle 1 can move forward and vehicle 2can depart without disturbing other vehicles). In this example, neithervehicle 2 nor 3 are proximate arriving vehicles 9 and 10.

Additionally, the parking location of vehicle 5 has changed which isalso not proximate to arriving vehicles 9 and 10. Based on there-positioning/orientation of vehicles 2, 3, 4 and 5, space for vehicles9 and 10 has been created. This optimization extends beyond, e.g.,adjusting space in front, behind, or on the side of the vehicles.

Because repositioning vehicles, even temporarily to allow a blockedvehicle to egress, is time consuming, the optimization of the layout canensure minimum aggregate disturbance of the vehicles in the parking areawhen positioning vehicles in the parking lot. Predictive analysis can beperformed to optimize arrival/departure timing and parking spaceutilization. Predicted departure times of a given vehicle from theparking area may be based on monitoring actions of an individual toarrive at the parking area and occupy the departing vehicle. The actionsmay include behavior of the individual and encompass other informationabout the individual, such as the individual's proximity to the parkingarea. This can be accomplish by tracking movement of the individual,where the individual is in relation to a process (such as checking outat the grocery store), or examining historic behavior of the person,such as the tendency for the individual to leave work at 5:00 PM eachday and arrive at the parking area 5 minutes thereafter.

By way of specific example, the monitoring may be location-based, suchas identifying that the individual is standing at a nearby billingcounter. The system can estimate the time that the user will arriveafter paying the bill. Additionally or alternatively, the system candetect activity or behavior by the user indicating where the user is ina process and predict time of arrival to the parking area based on that.If the system detects that a payment for the user was just processed, itcan assume the user will be leaving the billing counter shortly andpredict the individual's time of arrival at the parking area. Anotherexample of location-based prediction involves sensing that the user isapproaching the parking area using proximity, GPS, or other sensors.Another example of behavior-based prediction is the use of historicinformation about the individual. The system can predict the amount oftime that the user typically spends doing tasks such as eating in arestaurant or watching a movie, and predict when the individual willarrive at the parking area to occupy the parked vehicle and depart.

Predicted departure time can be used not only to ready the vehicle(potentially reposition the vehicle) for egress in a manner that reducesdisruption to other vehicles when the vehicle departs, but also wheninitially positioning the vehicle based its arrival or the arrival ofanother vehicle. In the Examiner of FIG. 3A and 3B, vehicle 5 ispositioned for more ready egress than vehicles 4 and 9, on the basisthat vehicle 5 is predicted to depart before vehicles 4 and 9.

The optimization may similarly rely on predicted arrival times. Arrivaltimes may be predicted based on explicit requests for a parking space ata particular time in the future or predicted arrival time in the future.A user can request a spot ahead of time, or the system can learn whenthe vehicle is likely to arrive and assume it will need a space in theparking area at that time, for example. Thus, the predicted arrivaltimes may be based on implicit/assumed requests. The implicit requestsmay be assumed based on past behavior, such as the tendency for the samevehicle to arrive at approximately the same time on the same scheduleacross a time period (e.g. Monday through Friday at 8:35 AM). Theoptimization may also rely on identification of vehicle dimensions.

As noted, in redesigning the parking layout, vehicles that are predictedto depart earlier may be kept in front or more easily accessible thanlater-departing vehicles. Additionally or alternatively, both theposition and direction of any vehicle in the parking lot may beconsidered for potential dynamic change based on available space andvehicle movement events. The new parking position of the vehicle(s) canbe arranged based on predicted departure time/arrival of the individualto occupy a departing vehicle, which prediction may be based on realtime and/or historical input, near real time data (e.g. actions that theuser is currently performing, such as paying a bill), and predictedarrival time of a vehicle. An autonomous vehicle or a user utilizing amobile application can request a parking space before arriving at theparking area so that the system can consider this request and trigger avehicle movement event to cause re-optimization of the layout based onthis updated information. The optimization function can be tailored tominimize disturbance of vehicles in the parking area based on futurevehicle movement events (e.g. to accommodate a departing or arrivingvehicle).

Therefore, based on, e.g., vehicle dimension, driving direction andavailable parking space, a cloud server can calculate the optimumparking layout dynamically for all of the involved vehicles in theparking area, so that a maximum number of vehicles can be accommodatedin the parking area. The relative position and direction of differentvehicles can be changed from time to time upon scenario changes, and thesystem can ensure accommodation of the maximum number of vehicles.

An example of a specific implementation of aspects described herein isnow provided, involving autonomous vehicles. Initially, vehicleparameters such as dimension, height, driving direction, engineposition, etc. are maintained by each autonomous vehicle as vehiclemetadata and shared with a remote (cloud) server. The cloud serverobtains an indication of the total area of the parking area, andidentifies the parked vehicles in the parking space, and accordinglywill identify the unutilized parking space in the parking area.

Each vehicle can be identified by the owner/operator, and the cloudserver or an associated component can track the proximity of thisindividual to predict a departure of the vehicle. For instance, it candetermine when the individual is approaching the vehicle, utilizehistorical pattern analysis to determine when the individual will arrivefor departure, and/or analyze relative activity performed by theindividual, like that the individual is at the billing counter.Accordingly, the cloud server can predict when the individual willrequest the autonomous vehicle for departure.

When an arriving autonomous vehicle requests a parking space in theparking area, it can communicate with the cloud server to share vehicleinformation such as vehicle dimension (including height, width, length),driving direction, and any other pertinent or requested information. Thecloud server can gather the data and analyze how vehicle(s) alreadypresent in the parking area and the arriving vehicle can be accommodatedmost efficiently in the parking area. The cloud server can performdifferent permutations and combinations to optimally position thevarious different vehicles, which might involve repositioning vehicles,perhaps ones that are otherwise not blocking or occupying a space forthe arriving vehicle. Optimizing the layout can be based on one or moredefinable, modifiable constraints or parameters, including theoptimization function. Different circumstances may favor differentoptimizations to be made and/or emphasis or weighting of differentconsiderations. Maximizing the number of vehicles that can beaccommodated in the parking area may be prioritized over minimizing anaverage time to clear a path for egress when departing, for instance.

The cloud server can also check how to minimize disturbance (temporaryrepositioning) of the vehicles in order to park the arriving vehicle andconsider the predictions about when vehicles in the parking area areexpected to depart the parking area. The cloud server can account forthese in the determination and optimization of the layout.

Once the optimum layout is determined, software can identify thevehicle(s) to reposition along with any that are to be temporary movedin order to enable the vehicles being repositioned to park in theirrelocated positions. The cloud server can cause the autonomousvehicle(s) to be controlled so that they occupy their appropriatelocations in the parking area. Additionally, once the proper parkingspace is created for the arriving vehicle, the position can becommunicated to the arriving vehicle for use in directing the vehicle tothe appropriate position in the parking area.

Accordingly, FIG. 4 depicts an example process for vehicle positioningin a parking area, in accordance with aspects described herein. In someexamples, the process of FIG. 4 is performed by one or more computersystem(s), such as a remote server in communication with one or more ofa plurality of vehicles. Initially, the process begins by obtainingvehicle information of the plurality of vehicles (402), the plurality ofvehicles for positioning in a parking area and the vehicle informationincluding vehicle dimension and driving direction. The process proceedsby identifying occupied areas of the parking area and comparing theidentified occupied areas to a total area size of the parking area (404)to identify unutilized parking space in the parking area.

At some point, a vehicle movement event is recognized (406). The vehiclemovement event is or includes, as examples, (i) actual or anticipatedarrival of an arriving vehicle to be positioned in the parking area or(ii) actual or anticipated departure of a departing vehicle departingfrom the parking area. Based on recognizing the vehicle movement event,the process determines an optimized layout for the plurality of vehicles(408). The optimized layout includes position for each vehicle of theplurality of vehicles, the position including vehicle orientation andlocation within the parking area.

The process proceeds by positioning one or more vehicles of theplurality of vehicles to conform to the determined optimized layout(410). The positioning includes, in the case of an autonomous vehicle ofthe plurality of vehicles, automatically controlling its movement, forinstance by sending commands or other communications to cause thevehicle to move in a desired manner. In the case of a non-autonomousvehicle, the positioning can include providing direction to an operatorof the vehicle or component of the vehicle informing where/how toposition the vehicle in the parking area. The positioning can alsoinclude repositioning a vehicle, of the one or more vehicles, that is adifferent vehicle than the arriving vehicle or departing vehicle.

Determination of the optimized layout can consider and account foranticipated arriving vehicles and associated arrival times, andanticipated departing vehicles and associated departing times. Theoptimized layout can include new positions for the one or more vehiclesthat are positioned (see 410 of FIG. 4) to minimize subsequentrepositioning of vehicles based on arrival of the anticipated arrivingvehicles and departure of the anticipated departing vehicles.

The determination of the optimized layout can consider potentialrepositioning of all vehicles located within the parking area, not justthose that are required to move in order to vacate the space at which anarriving vehicle is to park.

The determination of the optimized layout can considers a change inorientation of at least some, and possibly all, vehicles located withinthe parking area, for instance as illustrated by the reorientation ofvehicles 2 and 3 in FIGS. 3A, 3B. In some examples, the repositioning ofthe at least one vehicle includes changing an orientation and a locationof the at least one vehicle.

The determination of the optimized layout can include maximizing anamount of unused parking space of the parking area after the pluralityof vehicles are positioned to conform to the optimized layout.

A vehicle movement event may include anticipated departure of adeparting vehicle (i.e. a vehicle that will depart at some time in thefuture). In this scenario, the process can further include anticipatinga departure time of the departing vehicle, which might includemonitoring actions by an individual to arrive at the parking area andoccupy the departing vehicle, and triggering the vehicle movement eventat a time prior to the anticipated departure time, to trigger thedetermination of the optimized layout. Determining the optimized layoutcan include determining a new position for the departing vehicle thatdecreases impact on other vehicles of the plurality of vehicles when thedeparting vehicle departs the parking area. For instance, the newposition for the departing vehicle might be a position that facilitateeasier egress and less disturbance to surrounding vehicle(s). Thepositioning the one or more vehicles in this situation includesrepositioning the departing vehicle in the parking area prior to theanticipated departure time from an initial position to the new position.

A vehicle movement event may include anticipated arrival of an arrivingvehicle. In this scenario, the process can further include anticipatingan arrival time of the arriving vehicle, which might be based on anexpress or assumed request for a parking space in the parking area forthe arriving vehicle, and triggering the vehicle movement event at atime prior to the anticipated arrival time, to trigger the determinationof the optimized layout. Determining the optimized layout can includedetermining a position in the parking area that the arriving vehicle isto occupy in the parking area.

The process can receive vehicle dimension and driving direction of thearriving vehicle, and the determination of the optimized layout may bebased on the vehicle dimension and driving direction of the arrivingvehicle, where an orientation of the arriving vehicle when occupying thedetermined position in the parking area is based on the drivingdirection of the arriving vehicle. For instance, the orientation canplace the vehicle in a position allowing forward egress from the parkingarea without first reversing the vehicle.

The determination of the optimized layout can consider anticipateddeparture time of first and second vehicles of the plurality ofvehicles. The optimized layout can positions an anticipated earlierdeparting vehicle of the first and second vehicles in a position ofgreater accessibility to an exit/egress of the parking area than ananticipated later departing vehicle of the first and second vehicles.The positioning of the one or more vehicles positions the anticipatedearlier departing vehicle in the position of greater accessibility.

In some examples, the plurality of vehicles are each autonomousvehicles, the movement of which is automatically operable by one or morecomputer systems, such as a computer system performing the process ofFIG. 4, for instance a remote system.

Processes described herein may be performed singly or collectively byone or more computer systems, such as computer system(s) described belowwith reference to FIG. 5. In some embodiments, such a computer systemmay be or include a remote cloud server. Additionally, a computer systemto perform aspects described herein may be a mobile device, such as asmartphone, or a computer system embedded in a vehicle, such as anautonomous vehicle.

FIG. 5 depicts one example of a computer system to incorporate or useaspects described herein. A computer system may also be referred toherein as a processing device/system or computing device/system, orsimply a computer. Computer system 500 may be based on one or more ofvarious system architectures such as those offered by InternationalBusiness Machines Corporation (Armonk, N.Y., USA) or Intel Corporation(Santa Clara, Calif., USA), as examples.

Computer system 500 is suitable for storing and/or executing programcode and includes at least one processor 502 coupled directly orindirectly to memory 504 through, e.g., a system bus 520. In operation,processor(s) 502 obtain from memory 504 one or more instructions forexecution by the processors. Memory 504 may include local memoryemployed during actual execution of the program code, bulk storage, andcache memories which provide temporary storage of at least some programcode in order to reduce the number of times code must be retrieved frombulk storage during program code execution. A non-limiting list ofexamples of memory 504 includes a hard disk, a random access memory(RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compactdisc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magneticstorage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Memory 504includes an operating system 505 and one or more computer programs 506,for instance programs to perform aspects described herein.

Input/Output (I/O) devices 512, 514 (including but not limited todisplays, microphones, speakers, accelerometers, gyroscopes,magnetometers, light sensors, proximity sensors, GPS devices, cameras,etc.) may be coupled to the system either directly or through I/Ocontrollers 610.

Network adapter(s) 508 may also be coupled to the system to enable thecomputer system to become coupled to other computer systems, storagedevices, or the like through intervening private or public networks.Ethernet-based (such as Wi-Fi) interfaces and Bluetooth® adapters arejust examples of the currently available types of network adapters 508used in computer systems.

Computer system 500 may be coupled to storage 516 (e.g., a non-volatilestorage area, such as magnetic disk drives, optical disk drives, a tapedrive, etc.), having one or more databases. Storage 516 may include aninternal storage device or an attached or network accessible storage.Computer programs in storage 516 may be loaded into memory 504 andexecuted by a processor 502 in a manner known in the art.

The computer system 500 may include fewer components than illustrated,additional components not illustrated herein, or some combination of thecomponents illustrated and additional components. Computer system 500may include any computing device known in the art, such as a mainframe,server, personal computer, workstation, laptop, handheld or mobilecomputer, tablet, wearable device, telephony device, network appliance(such as an edge appliance), virtualization device, storage controller,etc.

Referring to FIG. 6, in one example, a computer program product 600includes, for instance, one or more computer readable storage media 602to store computer readable program code means, logic and/or instructions604 thereon to provide and facilitate one or more embodiments.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product at any possible technical detail level of integration.The computer program product may include a computer readable storagemedium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereonfor causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, oreither source code or object code written in any combination of one ormore programming languages, including an object oriented programminglanguage such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programminglanguages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programminglanguages. The computer readable program instructions may executeentirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including,for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gatearrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute thecomputer readable program instructions by utilizing state information ofthe computer readable program instructions to personalize the electroniccircuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of theorder noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, thesingular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the pluralforms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It willbe further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising”,when used in this specification, specify the presence of statedfeatures, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, butdo not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below, if any, areintended to include any structure, material, or act for performing thefunction in combination with other claimed elements as specificallyclaimed. The description of one or more embodiments has been presentedfor purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to beexhaustive or limited to in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain variousaspects and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinaryskill in the art to understand various embodiments with variousmodifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising:obtaining vehicle information of a plurality of vehicles, the pluralityof vehicles for positioning in a parking area and the vehicleinformation comprising vehicle dimension and driving direction;identifying occupied areas of the parking area and comparing theidentified occupied areas to a total area size of the parking area toidentify unutilized parking space in the parking area; anticipating anarrival time of an arriving vehicle; based on recognizing a vehiclemovement event, determining an optimized layout for the plurality ofvehicles, the optimized layout comprising position for each vehicle ofthe plurality of vehicles, the position including vehicle orientationand location within the parking area, and the vehicle movement eventcomprising (i) actual or anticipated arrival of an arriving vehicle tobe positioned in the parking area or (ii) actual or anticipateddeparture of a departing vehicle departing from the parking area,wherein the vehicle movement event comprises anticipated arrival of thearriving vehicle, and the method triggers the vehicle movement event ata time prior to the anticipated arrival time, to trigger the determiningthe optimized layout, wherein determining the optimized layout comprisesdetermining a position in the parking area that the arriving vehicle isto occupy in the parking area; and positioning one or more vehicles ofthe plurality of vehicles to conform to the determined optimized layout,the positioning comprising automatically controlling movement of atleast one autonomous vehicle of the one or more vehicles andrepositioning a vehicle, of the one or more vehicles, that is adifferent vehicle than the arriving vehicle or departing vehicle.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein another vehicle movement event comprisesanticipated departure of a departing vehicle, and wherein the methodfurther comprises: anticipating a departure time of the departingvehicle; and triggering the another vehicle movement event at a timeprior to the anticipated departure time, to trigger determining anotheroptimized layout, wherein determining the another optimized layoutcomprises determining a new position for the departing vehicle thatdecreases impact on other vehicles of the plurality of vehicles when thedeparting vehicle departs the parking area; and positioning another oneor more vehicles of the plurality of vehicles to conform to thedetermined another optimized layout, the positioning the another one ormore vehicles comprising repositioning the departing vehicle in theparking area prior to the anticipated departure time from an initialposition to the new position.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein theanticipating the departure time comprises monitoring actions by anindividual to arrive at the parking area and occupy the departingvehicle.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the anticipating the arrivaltime is based on an express or assumed request for a parking space inthe parking area for the arriving vehicle.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising receiving vehicle dimension and driving direction ofthe arriving vehicle, wherein the determining the optimized layout isbased on the vehicle dimension and driving direction of the arrivingvehicle, wherein an orientation of the arriving vehicle when occupyingthe determined position in the parking area is based on the drivingdirection of the arriving vehicle.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein thedetermining the optimized layout considers anticipated departure time offirst and second vehicles of the plurality of vehicles, wherein theoptimized layout positions an anticipated earlier departing vehicle ofthe first and second vehicles in a position of greater accessibility toan exit of the parking area than an anticipated later departing vehicleof the first and second vehicles, and wherein the positioning the one ormore vehicles positions the anticipated earlier departing vehicle in theposition of greater accessibility.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein thedetermining the optimized layout considers potential repositioning ofall vehicles located within the parking area.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the determining the optimized layout considers a change inorientation of at least some vehicles located within the parking area.9. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the optimized layoutcomprises maximizing an amount of unused parking space of the parkingarea after the plurality of vehicles are positioned to conform to thelayout.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the repositioning the atleast one vehicle comprises changing an orientation and location of theat least one vehicle.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining,identifying, determining, and positioning are performed by a remotecomputer system in communication with the plurality of vehicles.
 12. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the plurality of vehicles are each autonomousvehicles, the movement of which is automatically operable by one or morecomputer systems.
 13. A computer program product comprising: anon-transitory computer readable storage medium readable by a processingcircuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuitfor performing a method comprising: obtaining vehicle information of aplurality of vehicles, the plurality of vehicles for positioning in aparking area and the vehicle information comprising vehicle dimensionand driving direction; identifying occupied areas of the parking areaand comparing the identified occupied areas to a total area size of theparking area to identify unutilized parking space in the parking area;anticipating an arrival time of an arriving vehicle; based onrecognizing a vehicle movement event, determining an optimized layoutfor the plurality of vehicles, the optimized layout comprising positionfor each vehicle of the plurality of vehicles, the position includingvehicle orientation and location within the parking area, and thevehicle movement even comprising (i) actual or anticipated arrival of anarriving vehicle to be positioned in the parking area or (ii) actual oranticipated departure of a departing vehicle departing from the parkingarea, wherein the vehicle movement event comprises anticipated arrivalof the arriving vehicle, and the method triggers the vehicle movementevent at a time prior to the anticipated arrival time, to trigger thedetermining the optimized layout, wherein determining the optimizedlayout comprises determining a position in the parking area that thearriving vehicle is to occupy in the parking area; and positioning oneor more vehicles of the plurality of vehicles to conform to thedetermined optimized layout, the positioning comprising automaticallycontrolling movement of at least one autonomous vehicle of the one ormore vehicles and repositioning a vehicle, of the one or more vehicles,that is a different vehicle than the arriving vehicle or departingvehicle.
 14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein anothervehicle movement event comprises anticipated departure of a departingvehicle, and wherein the method further comprises: anticipating adeparture time of the departing vehicle; and triggering the anothervehicle movement event at a time prior to the anticipated departuretime, to trigger determining another optimized layout, whereindetermining the another optimized layout comprises determining a newposition for the departing vehicle that decreases impact on othervehicles of the plurality of vehicles when the departing vehicle departsthe parking area; and positioning another one or more vehicles of theplurality of vehicles to conform to the determined another optimizedlayout, the positioning the another one or more vehicles comprisingrepositioning the departing vehicle in the parking area prior to theanticipated departure time from an initial position to the new position.15. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the method furthercomprises receiving vehicle dimension and driving direction of thearriving vehicle, wherein the determining the optimized layout is basedon the vehicle dimension and driving direction of the arriving vehicle,wherein an orientation of the arriving vehicle when occupying thedetermined position in the parking area is based on the drivingdirection of the arriving vehicle.
 16. A computer system comprising: amemory; and a processor in communication with the memory, wherein thecomputer system is configured to perform a method, the methodcomprising: obtaining vehicle information of a plurality of vehicles,the plurality of vehicles for positioning in a parking area and thevehicle information comprising vehicle dimension and driving direction;identifying occupied areas of the parking area and comparing theidentified occupied areas to a total area size of the parking area toidentify unutilized parking space in the parking area; anticipating anarrival time of an arriving vehicle; based on recognizing a vehiclemovement event, determining an optimized layout for the plurality ofvehicles, the optimized layout comprising position for each vehicle ofthe plurality of vehicles, the position including vehicle orientationand location within the parking area, and the vehicle movement eventcomprising (i) actual or anticipated arrival of an arriving vehicle tobe positioned in the parking area or (ii) actual or anticipateddeparture of a departing vehicle departing from the parking area,wherein the vehicle movement event comprises anticipated arrival of thearriving vehicle, and the method triggers the vehicle movement event ata time prior to the anticipated arrival time, to trigger the determiningthe optimized layout, wherein determining the optimized layout comprisesdetermining a position in the parking area that the arriving vehicle isto occupy in the parking area; and positioning one or more vehicles ofthe plurality of vehicles to conform to the determined optimized layout,the positioning comprising automatically controlling movement of atleast one autonomous vehicle of the one or more vehicles andrepositioning a vehicle, of the one or more vehicles, that is adifferent vehicle than the arriving vehicle or departing vehicle. 17.The computer system of claim 16, wherein another vehicle movement eventcomprises anticipated departure of a departing vehicle, and wherein themethod further comprises: anticipating a departure time of the departingvehicle; and triggering the another vehicle movement event at a timeprior to the anticipated departure time, to trigger determining anotheroptimized layout, wherein determining the anther optimized layoutcomprises determining a new position for the departing vehicle thatdecreases impact on other vehicles of the plurality of vehicles when thedeparting vehicle departs the parking area; and positioning another oneor more vehicles of the plurality of vehicles to conform to thedetermined another optimized layout, the positioning the another one ormore vehicles comprising repositioning the departing vehicle in theparking area prior to the anticipated departure time from an initialposition to the new position.